Lexico-functional categories in Noah Webster's American Dictionary of the english language: the case of intensifiers

• Autores: Silvia Cacchiani
• Localización: Atti del XII Congresso Internazionale di Lessicografia: Torino, 6-9 settembre 2006 / Elisa Corino (ed. lit.), Carla Marello (ed. lit.), Cristina Onesti (ed. lit.), Vol. 1, 2006, ISBN 88-7694-918-6, págs. 41-47
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • This paper sets out to investigate in what ways and to what extent Webster accounts for different types and degrees of intensification within the enormously varied and ever-changing lexico-functional category of intensifiers, varying along dimensions like connotations, type and degree of expressivity, as well as style and register restrictions. Specifically, we shall investigate inclusion and characterization of intensifiers in Webster's American Dictionary against the background of Johnson's 1755 Dictionary using their electronic editions both as a dictionary and as a corpus. Reference will be also made to the Oxford English Dictionary online up to 1828 for comparison. Essentially, after compiling the intensifiers wordlists of Webster's and Johnson's dictionaries, we shall compare their treatment touching upon definition practices, usage labels and notes, examples and quotations. The main emphasis will be on Webster's lexicographic achievement rather than on his debt to Johnson.